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Will the Hits Ever Stop?

Apple's iTunes Music Store tops 300 million downloads. Wow.

Maybe I ought to just shut up. Despite telling readers that Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock split was meaningless and that the shares were overvalued even for a Rule Breaker like me, the stock has continued to go up, up, up. What the heck is going on?

Well, at the risk of earning an undisputed claim to the title "master of the obvious," the answer is this: Apple continues to perform in every area of its business. Witness yesterday's announcement that the iTunes Music Store has passed 300 million downloads and now boasts a library of more than 1 million songs. New artists making music available through iTunes include the Grateful Dead.

Indeed, it seems Apple's latest innovations have become cultural icons, none more so than the many flavors of the iPod. The Mac maker has reportedly sold more than 10 million of the digital music players. Think about that. As of yesterday, only 30 songs had been downloaded for every iPod owner out there.

But the pace appears to be picking up: Apple reported 200 million downloads on Dec. 16. That's 75 days to add 100 million songs, or 1.3 million downloads per day. It took Apple 156 days to go from 100 million to 200 million downloads, or a rate of 641,000 downloads per day. Though these are nothing more than estimates it does appear that Apple has doubled its rate of daily music downloads in a little more than six months. That may be because many consider the iPod to be a lifestyle as well as a music player. Heck, we even have a discussion board here at Fool.com dedicated to just such a group of folks.

At some point Apple's hits are bound to stop, but can anyone really predict when that will be? Nope. So, at least for now, I'm done trying.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers hasn't downloaded anything from the iTunes Music store in a while. He's having a craving for "For Your Love" from the Yardbirds, though. Maybe he'll visit the store today. Tim didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story at the time of publication. You can find out what's in his portfolio by checking Tim's Fool profile, which is here. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Author

Tim Beyers first began writing for the Fool in 2003. Today, he's an analyst for Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova. At Fool.com, he covers disruptive ideas in technology and entertainment. Find him online at timbeyers.me or send email to tbeyers@foolcontractors.com. For more insights, follow Tim on Twitter.